King Creek Falls – Winter 2016

King Creek Falls was the main waterfall I was here to see on this late February afternoon. I made a full day of it though, stopping along the way at White Owl Falls, and Spoonauger Falls. Both Falls had impressive waterflows. It was a dreary, cloudy day. It had all the makings of an epic waterfall journey. After visiting Spoonager Falls for the first time, it was a short ride back up Burrells Ford Rd to the parking area for King Creek Falls. After the unexpected trees and fallen Rhodo that made the last 0.1 mile of Spoonauger Falls much more challenging, I was wondering what this 0.9 mile trek had in store for me. My answer came sooner than expected. There was a large truck parked near me with 2 older gentleman. They had been along the trail maintaining it and were putting chainsaws away. This was an interesting sign. I had a quick chat with them and they mentioned that it was pretty passable. After hiking it, I was so, so thankful for their efforts. The first half of this trail would have been much more difficult without them. Those Pine trees just don’t seem to hold up well to late winter, early spring storms. There was much more downfall on this trail than the one on Spoonauger just down the road. The main difference, the trail maintainers had already been here. There had also been some fresh trail sign painting, marking the Foothills Trail and King Creek Trail.

After the bridge crosses King Creek, this was where my luck ran out. There were still some fallen rhodos to work my way up and over, under, in and around. The trail was so narrow here, rising quickly on one side, and dropping steeply on the other. I had no choice but to work through it, camera gear and all. I made my way on to King Creek Falls and it was impressive. Gone was the half sun half shade of the first visit. I had a much better waterflow, and I had it all to myself.

The best views require crossing the creek, which was somewhat tricky in higher water. The tree crossing it was not as sturdy as I remember it though. I have a feeling the rotting tree will be gone some day and this will be a wet crossing. That would be ok, it’s worth it! Here is a short video of King Creek Falls: